Mayor invites community organisations to apply as he opens latest £6million round of grassroots funding to support victims and survivors of violence against women and girls

• Applications for grants through the Mayor’s VAWG Grassroots Fund are now open to help provide specialist one-to-one support for victims and survivors in underrepresented groups - including women from minority communities, those involved in prostitution, and women with disabilities
• Organisations across London can now apply for grants up to £150,000 to support women, children and families with access to legal advice, counselling, emergency housing and other key services.
• The Mayor’s VAWG Grassroots Fund has already supported 57 organisations and over 56,800 women since it launched in 2021, and Sadiq has committed to supporting many more victims and survivors over the next three years as part of his new VAWG strategy
• Sadiq is also investing a further £2million in a specialist Victims Fund over the next two years to support specialist, voluntary and community organisations who work more generally with victims of crime to help them recover and rebuild their lives.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is today inviting grassroots organisations who support survivors of violence against women and girls (VAWG), to apply for grants through the latest round of his funding for specialist organisations and charities. 

The new £6million funding through the Mayor’s VAWG Grassroots Fund^[1], will help organisations that are rooted in and led by the communities they serve provide thousands of women, children and families with access to legal advice, counselling, emergency housing and other key services. A further £2million through the Mayor’s Victims’ Fund will help similar organisations who work with victims of crime more generally, for example victims of robbery, theft or GBH. 

This new investment is part of the Mayor’s dedicated action to support local community organisations working with women and girls from Black, Asian and minority-ethnic communities and other underrepresented groups, including women involved in prostitution, and women with disabilities. The funding will ensure that these women and girls have access to the specialist help they need and deserve where they are.

VAWG can have devastating, life-changing consequences for women and girls, and their families. The various pathways to support, reporting and justice can be overwhelming, and these services can help victims and survivors to cope, recover and seek justice. 

The VAWG Grassroots Fund has already directly supported 57 organisations and over 56,800 women and girls and families from minoritised communities through its first two rounds of funding. The latest investment, announced as part of the Mayor’s new strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, will enable thousands more Londoners to benefit from specialised targeted support within their trusted communities. 

One women who has been able to rebuild her life after receiving support through the VAWG Grassroots Fund, has gone one to establish her own charity supporting Romani Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller women and children to navigate life after abuse^[2].  

Grassroots organisations across London are able to apply for grants up to £150,000 over the next three years (£50,000 a year), and can submit their applications through The London Community Foundation website, with the deadline for applying on Wednesday 4^th November 2026.  

Alongside the VAWG Grassroots Fund, the Mayor is investing £2million into his Victims Fund^[3] over the next two years, which will provide grants of up to £200,000 across the next two years (£100,000 a year) for community organisations that give tailored support for people from minoritised communities who have been a victim/survivor of all crimes that are not classified as VAWG, such as robbery, theft or GBH.

The new funding from the Mayor comes at a time when the on-going cost-of-living crisis continues to makes it more difficult for survivors of VAWG and domestic abuse, to rebuild their lives, forcing them into debt and in some cases to stay with their abusers. The holistic support provided by the Mayor through these two funds, provides survivors with the life-changing opportunity to live life on their own terms and rebuild their confidence and sense of self, as well as reducing the risk of re-victimisation.

The Mayor has already overseen a record-breaking £318m of investment to strengthen action against VAWG perpetrators; support victims and survivors; and pioneer a whole society, long-term preventative approach to tackling misogynistic beliefs and behaviours that contribute to VAWG. And now as part of his new VAWG strategy^[4] Sadiq is investing an additional £37million, including funding for the VAWG Grassroots Fund as well as to tackle tech abuse, help survivors into employment and financial independence, address online misogyny and exploitation, support victims of child sexual exploitation, tackle the manosphere and extend access to independent legal advice.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Victims and survivors of violence against women and girls deserve the highest level of support to help them recover, and rebuild their lives. That’s why, as part of my new strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, I am investing more than £6million into grassroot organisations that are rooted in and led by the communities they serve, through my VAWG Grassroots Fund.

“Our funding has already helped over 56,000 women, children and families receive vital help such as legal advice, counselling, emergency housing or any other key services. I’m determined to ensure that we continue this funding for grassroot organisations so that any woman, from any background has the help they need. Today I’m inviting grassroot organisations to apply for a grant so that we can support them carry out their life-saving work.

“As we continue to work together to tackle the epidemic of VAWG, including its root causes to build a safer London for everyone, I look forward to working closely with the Government, the Met police and grassroots organisations across London to do even more to support the most vulnerable in our society and help them access the one-to-one help they desperately need and deserve.”

Quynh Nguyen, Founder and CEO of Vietnamese Family Partnership, said: "For Vietnamese and East and South East Asian women, language is often the last barrier between abuse and safety, and financial control is one of its quietest forms, hardest to name in a community where talking about money, or violence, carries shame. 

“Over the previous funding round, this fund helped us secure over £36,000 in financial support for these women and elders in just six months, preventing eviction and homelessness at a fraction of the cost to the state. We look forward to this new £6 million round over three years, telling communities too often left out of this conversation: you are seen, and you are not alone."  

Paul Buchanan MBE, CEO, The London Community Foundation, said: We are proud to continue supporting MOPAC on this crucial work to tackle violence, exploitation, and crime in London. This type of targeted funding and support for specialist organisations is vital to reach victims and survivors. Grassroots organisations are trusted and rooted within the communities they serve and are best placed to provide support that is culturally appropriate and trauma informed. The importance of offering services which are tailored to the diverse and intersecting needs of those living in London cannot be overstated. Both the Mayor’s VAWG Grassroots Fund and Victims Small Grants Fund have this approach at their centre, which should be applauded.

Su Bhuhi MBE, Founder and CEO Aanchal Women’s Aid, said: "This is not just a fund but a lifeline for all the individuals we can reach who need charities like ours.  Life can change from homeless to having a home - from being lost in one's own life to being part of a community of humanity".  

London’s Victims’ Commissioner, Andrea Simon, said: “As Victims’ Commissioner, I see first-hand the transformative impact of specialist, grassroots organisations in the lives of women and girls who have experienced violence and abuse.

“These organisations are rooted in the communities they serve. They understand the barriers women can face in seeking help and they are able to provide support that is culturally responsive to women's individual needs. For many, these organisations are a lifeline, and the only trusted route to safety and recovery.

“This is why the Mayor’s VAWG Grassroots Fund is so important, providing grassroots organisations and community groups across London resources to continue their vital work. I look forward to continuing to work with the Mayor to ensure every survivor can access the specialist support they need.”